To this day dirty water is one of the biggest killers on Earth, particularly in the developing world. However, there now exists a cheap and efficient way to stop dangerous, waterborne bugs in their tracks. Enter the LifeStraw. The device aims to decontaminate dirty water, making it safe for human consumption. It achieves this by …
The Revolutionary Straw That Makes Any Water Safe To Drink Read More »
Turbulence is a flow condition within a medium – such as air or water – in which local speed and pressure changes unpredictably within an overall stable flow direction. As such, turbulence is characterised by rapid changes of momentum diffusion and convection, as well as velocity. It is the result of a medium like air …
It may look precarious, but learning into a corner on a motorbike actually offers more grip. As bikes only have two wheels, they don’t simply turn through corners in the way a four-wheeled vehicle does. Instead, they effectively carve through the turns, leaning from side to side and using the full outer radius of their tyres …
Cats avoid water because they can’t swim, right? Wrong! The real reason felines tend to shun the wet stuff is because their fur quickly becomes sodden and loses its insulation properties as a consequence. The result: their body temperature drops, they become less agile and also run the risk of drowning. A kitty’s fur has …
Even if you’re not in the immediate vicinity of a lightning strike, you can still be struck – indirectly. A bolt of lightning will be distributed in all directions when it hits the ground, so the actual danger zone extends to a radius of at least ten metres from the point of entry. If you …
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Eating chocolate on the Tube was once illegal thanks to a peculiar 19th century English bylaw. Even more strangely, the edict applied solely to women riding on the London Underground. Wearing socks within 100 metres of a monarch was made illegal by Elizabeth I, who also banned shirts with “outrageous double ruffs” being worn …
One of the many things that Leonardo da Vinci turned his hand to during his life was studying trees, in particular their resistance to breakage. Today, over 500 years later, French researchers have discovered the critical speed above which trees planted in urban areas are likely to either uproot or suffer broken branches. They found …
It has seen action in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but now, 30 years after its introduction, the US Army has retired its fleet of iconic Humvees. The military vehicle will be replaced by the Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, a 300 out on top after proving to be faster JLTV is clad in a landmines, …
Does my brain have seasons? – Winter blues, seasonal affective disorder, spring exhaustion – the seasons certainly influence our moods. But now Belgian researchers have found that our brain itself experiences seasonal shifts. As part of a study, participants had to solve tasks over the course of a year during which time their brain activity was …
With more autonomous unmanned vehicles being released into the air every year, the risk of collisions is increasing – recently, a BA flight from Geneva was hit by a suspected drone during its descent to Heathrow. Now there is a growing fear that drones could be used by terrorists to mount airborne attacks, and work …
A manned Mars mission is NASA’s next big project, but researchers are not only concerned with when and how mankind will get there but also how they might survive on the inhospitable red planet. The main obstacle facing the mission? In order to build a settlement there, several tons’ worth of building material from Earth …
Scientists at Duke University in North Carolina have found a way to use the polio virus as a weapon against glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer. To do so, they genetically modified the virus so that it could only multiply in tumour cells, not in healthy tissue. The virus created …
Parts of Chile’s Atacama Desert are so dry they haven’t seen rain since records began. This arid desert on Chile’s coast is often touted as the driest place on Earth thanks to its position in a rain shadow, which means moisture is ferried away over the Andes mountains. Despite the harsh conditions, more than one …
It might sound repulsive, but it’s necessary: transporting materials to space is so expensive that astronauts on board the ISS must drink their own bodily fluids. The water is purified before it’s consumed: on-board systems collect every last drop of moisture from the astronauts’ breath, sweat and urine before using iodine to disinfect the water. …
How Do Astronauts On Board The International Space Station Get Water? Read More »
Between 60% and 70% of an adult human body is water, depending on the individual. But specific organs vary – the heart and brain are roughly 73% water while the lungs clock in at a staggering 83%. Even our bones, which seem so solid, are 31% water. The element enables our body to transport the …